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Chapter 600: Chapter 380 I Have Insight_2
After the gaming session ended, it was 11:30 PM, and Xue Yuantong could still stay up. Munching on chips, she clicked into a video website and logged into Jiang Ning’s account.
Jiang Ning had a membership on the account, which he rarely used. Xue Yuantong felt that it was such a waste to pay for a membership and not use it, so she set out to watch as many movies as possible to get her money’s worth.
Unfortunately, there were just too many movies, and she couldn’t possibly watch them all.
During the television drama playback, an elegant and melodious song came through the desktop speaker.
Xue Yuantong, her legs curled up and the bag of chips hugged to her chest, munched on a chip and said, "Jiang Ning, I shared this song with you yesterday. Did you listen to it?"
"Isn’t the intro just super delicious?"
Jiang Ning was sure he hadn’t heard wrong, and he answered, "No, it’s not delicious."
"What, it’s not delicious?" Xue Yuantong couldn’t believe it, considering her musical taste to be on the same level as Jiang Ning’s. 𝓷ℴ𝓿𝓹𝓾𝓫.𝓬ℴ𝓶
"It’s a song, of course it can’t be ’delicious’," Jiang Ning said, looking at her as if she were a fool.
Xue Yuantong was halfway to getting angry when she suddenly realized it was her mistake.
She was so embarrassed that she didn’t know how to scold Jiang Ning anymore.
’I need to think of an excuse first, then I can openly find a reason to trouble him.’ Xue Yuantong muttered to herself, while trying to think of any recent mistakes Jiang Ning had made.
Just then, there was a knock on the door, and Aunt Gu pushed it open.
She looked at her daughter and said with a hint of helplessness, "Since school ended, you haven’t been spending any time at home."
Xue Yuantong retorted, "Mom, aren’t you forgetting? This is our home, isn’t it?"
Aunt Gu thought about it, and indeed it was true. Xue Yuantong smiled triumphantly.
Aunt Gu’s attack had been easily deflected by her daughter, which diminished maternal authority by one point, so she asked, "Tongtong, have you brushed your teeth yet?"
Xue Yuantong continued to smile, "Of course I’ve brushed my teeth."
She’d been aware that her mother would find something to nag about, so she’d specifically brushed her teeth before coming to play with Jiang Ning.
"Then do you know that eating after brushing your teeth at night is like not having brushed at all?" Aunt Gu lectured her daughter.
Jiang Ning took a bite of melon, thoroughly enjoying the drama unfolding.
Previously, Xue Yuantong would have backed down, not only bullied by Jiang Ning but also by her mother’s imposing presence. Now she wondered, what dignity would she have left in this family!
Especially since Jiang Ning dared to enjoy the show, it was time to show him what she was made of!
Aunt Gu said, "Go brush your teeth again, and remember not to eat after brushing next time."
Suddenly, Xue Yuantong spoke up, "There was a big tiger faced with five sheep. Do you know why it ate the second one, Mom?"
Aunt Gu hadn’t even had a chance to answer.
Xue Yuantong rose from her chair and said with an air of dominance, "Because it eats however it pleases!"
...
Five minutes later.
Jiang Ning closed the webpage that Xue Yuantong hadn’t managed to, and shut down the computer. The brilliant lights inside the chassis went out with it.
Xue Yuantong had only been defiant for a few seconds before Aunt Gu dragged her back home by the ear, and now she obediently went to brush her teeth.
She brushed her teeth and took a bath; by then it was almost midnight.
She wanted to play some more, but it was bedtime. Staying up too late would affect her growth, preventing her from getting taller.
She had aspirations of growing taller than Jiang Ning.
Lying in bed, Xue Yuantong stared at the ceiling, then, after a while, she turned her little body toward Jiang Ning’s bedroom.
She sent Jiang Ning a message, "Have you gone to sleep yet?"
Jiang Ning was in the midst of cultivating his Divine Sense and didn’t reply. She considered calling him on QQ, but eventually decided against it, guessing that he must have gone to bed by now.
So instead, she sent another message: "Hmph, I’m the one who wins in the end."
She tossed her phone aside and thought about what her mom had said - that Chuchu’s family was planning to buy the neighbor’s house.
Xue Yuantong had said at the time, "Mom, if Chuchu’s family wants to come, why can’t they just stay at our house?"
Then she saw the same look on her mom’s face, the one reserved for an idiot.
Right! If Chuchu’s family moved in next door, what would happen to Jiang Ning?
Thinking about the past year spent with Jiang Ning, Xue Yuantong’s memories were all filled with joy; she certainly did not want Jiang Ning to leave.
But Chuchu was equally important.
Xue Yuantong’s mind wandered with all sorts of thoughts. She imagined a scenario where if something unexpected happened, and the neighboring house was gone, she would definitely not let Jiang Ning go.
At that time, she would have Jiang Ning stay in her little house.
Thinking of that possibility, Xue Yuantong shyly hugged a soft pillow, rolling over and over on the bed.
She thought of many things: "Jiang Ning is so big; if he came over, I would surely feel uncomfortable."
After all, her bed wasn’t big, and if she were squeezed off, she would have to climb back on.
Xue Yuantong’s head was filled with all kinds of bizarre ideas until late into the night when she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Next door.
At this moment, Jiang Ning’s room was filled with a light haze. Upon knowing that Xue Yuantong had fallen asleep, he released a thread of Spiritual Power to fuel the temperature Array for her room, providing it with the power to operate.
...
Saturday morning, 7:30.
Jiang Ning opened the front door to be greeted by the freshness of nature; the neighbor’s dog chased after another, frolicking back and forth on the ground.
The grand Yang Trees were lush with leaves. Several sparrows fluttered their wings, flying to and fro, painting a serene rural scene.
His Divine Sense swept across, and he saw Aunt Gu busy cooking in the kitchen. With a three-day holiday for the Dragon Boat Festival, Aunt Gu was not working at the company and planned to have a good rest.
Upon entering the yard, Xue Yuantong was holding a pink plastic cup, earnestly brushing her teeth.
Judging by her appearance, she had probably forgotten about last night’s issue. Xue Yuantong only remembered her moments of glory, rarely retaining memories of her disappointments.
During breakfast, Aunt Gu said,
"We will have lunch at Chuchu’s house this noon. I’m going to the market to buy some groceries. What do you two feel like eating?"
Sipping from her bowl of pumpkin soup, Xue Yuantong responded, "I want to eat seafood!"
Seafood was not cheap. In the past, Xue Yuantong’s family only ate it during festivals, but now that her mother had a good job, she had the confidence to make such a request.
Another reason was that she wanted to reciprocate Jiang Ning, to prepare something delicious for him and not always take advantage of his generosity.
Aunt Gu’s face warmed with a gentle smile, "Okay, I’ll buy some."
Her aura was completely different from last year.
When Jiang Ning first met Aunt Gu, he thought she did not seem very healthy, with apparent signs of exhaustion—a result of long-term, low-wage physical labor under the heavy pressures of life.
Now that she has a new job that’s respectable, with a higher salary, more holidays, and no cutthroat competition, she is in a good mood every day. Added to that, Jiang Ning had given her Spirit Bamboo Liquid during her hospital stay for a fracture, which naturally helped her recover well.
Hearing the mother and daughter’s conversation, Jiang Ning weighed his words, "You might not need to buy seafood."
Xue Yuantong was puzzled, "Why, Jiang Ning?"
"Do you remember the relatives we went fishing with last time?" he asked.
"Of course I remember, the tomato fish fillets were super delicious that day," Xue Yuantong reminisced fondly, and hastily took a sip of her pumpkin soup to hide the fact that she salivated at the thought.
Jiang Ning conveyed, "Well, my cousin and Qing E enjoyed your cooking so much after eating that they went home and praised you to my aunt and uncle."
Initially quite brash, Xue Yuantong now felt a bit bashful and lowered her gaze, unable to utter a word.
Aunt Gu looked at her daughter, who was devoid of any composure.
"My uncle’s family owns a restaurant; they’ve got some Little Green Dragon, and they’ve asked me to pick it up today. It’ll be great for lunch," Jiang Ning explained the reason.
"Little Green Dragon, that’s lobster," Aunt Gu noted, being familiar with various ingredients due to her work at Evergreen Liquid’s kitchen.
Aunt Gu advised, "You don’t have to bring it back for lunch; just eat at your uncle’s house."
The price for Little Green Dragon was not low; it was actually quite expensive. She worried about taking advantage of her relatives, which wouldn’t sound good if it reached her husband’s brother.
Jiang Ning chuckled and boasted, "But Aunt Gu, your cooking is better."
"Besides, my uncle’s family bought quite a lot."
He saw nothing wrong with it—having twice delivered watermelons to his uncle’s family, his restaurant-owning uncle could easily see how extraordinary those watermelons were, and they were undoubtedly quite valuable.
Besides, what’s a relationship with relatives if not a give-and-take?
Hearing Jiang Ning confirm the Little Green Dragon for the noon meal, Xue Yuantong sneakily pulled out her phone to search what kind of species Little Green Dragon was, to avoid being laughed at for not recognizing it and looking uninformed.
She quietly reviewed in advance, ready to impress Chuchu with her knowledge and earn her shock.
